They'll Name a City After Us
by JD11
Summary: I had buried my face into Nikola's neck and rested my palm against his chest. He ran a hand absently over my back and his other laid on Nigel's thigh. James stretched out above Nigel and John had wrapped one arm around him, holding him close. THE FIVE
1. They'll name a city after us

_Summary: _We were quiet for a while. I had buried my face into Nikola's neck and rested my palm against his chest. He ran a hand absently over my back and his other hand laid on Nigel's thigh. James used the last of his strength to stay stretched out above Nigel and John had wrapped one arm around him, holding him close. His lips were near James' neck and he kissed it lazily a few times.

_Prompts:_ from LJ's Sanctuary Anon Kink Meme

Helen/James/John/Nigel/Nikola, _  
They'll name a city after us  
And later say it's all our fault_

Helen/James/John/Nigel/Nikola, "Exclusive, it seems, was a rather broad term. One that could be bent and broken, simply because we were us."

/-/-

**They'll Name a City After Us **

The Five of us, in our prime, were quite... arrogant.

All that work we did with the source blood- we thought our contributions to the world would be so great; we would be so great, remembered forever. And then we became something more- so much stronger, smarter, better, rarer than our human counterparts. It was quite exhilarating. We thought the rules didn't apply to us. Society be damned, was like an unspoken motto.

But being conceited enough to think we could play god and inject ourselves with source blood wasn't the only thing rule we broke. We broke a lot of rules.

That spring, in '87, John and I became engaged. It was inevitable, really, but don't be fooled into thinking we were the only couple that formed in the Five. Exclusive, it seems, was a rather broad term. One that could be bent and broken, simply because we were us.

The reality was that James and John had a... unique attraction to each other. James liked women, mostly, but he only liked them for their beauty, elegance, and because society said he should. But it was rare, he told me, that ever found a women intelligent enough, out-spoken enough, and attractive enough to suit his needs. But he found all of that in John, and me, to an extent. I think John just found it interesting.

Nikola, of course, fell in love me early on, I'm quite sure of it. There was always a spark between us, a playful, electric banter that existed between us. It's what attracted me to him. But he was the polite Victorian gentleman, always. Courteous, respectful, admiring from afar. Until that night, of course.

And then there was Nigel. He was the youngest, the least certain of himself but also the least inhibited.

We were all together at the Sanctuary in London. My father was off on some adventure. It was late and we were alone in our own little world, as we often were. I think it March, perhaps April, eight or nine months after we had injected the source blood. We were sure in our abilities, our newfound greatness, and we were, most certainly, at the height of our pretension.

That night, we drank in celebration. We spoke only of lofty ideas and grand inventions- most of which we never achieved. We had a rather elaborate plan once, but it... It died with a lot of other things.

While sitting on the sofa besides one another, James took John's face in his hands and kissed him in front of all of us. Society told us that we should be disgusted by a lewd display, by a homosexual interest, but we weren't. I watched my fiancé and best friend engage in one of the most sensuous, passionate embraces I've ever laid eyes on. Even after all my years I've never witness anything more loving. We were watching nearly ten years of love and friendship and lust breaking open in that moment.

Nikola stood next to me. He watched them with his head tilted to the side and his hands on his hips, his face furrowed in confusion. He had been taught all his life to think of homosexuality as a sin, his father being a minister and himself, until recently, being devoted. The law even said it, condemning exactly the act we were witnessing to several years of hard labour. Not too long before that, it would have been death. Nikola later admitted to me that, until that moment, he would have said it was wrong, disgusting, morally reprehensible, but watching John and James like that, two of his best friends simply loving each other, he thought it was beautiful.

We stood there for a little while, not knowing exactly what to do and not wanting to break the heated atmosphere that had surrounded the two men. They seemed to have forgotten us, even, and John started pulling at James' clothes, helping him to remove some of his outer layers. James was stripping John more slowly, taking each button one at a time, revealing skin methodically. I had never seen a man- a living, breathing, human man- naked before then and I watched, captivated at the sight, tracing the lines of muscles, the sturdy shapeliness of both of them. I didn't even pay attention to what Nikola was doing until he kissed my neck.

He had moved, as I was watching the others, to stand behind me. His hands had slide over my hips and pulled me close to him. Of course, the many layers of Victorian style kept up quite distant, made it quite impossible to feel how much the sight our friends had already aroused Nikola. He focused on my neck, kissing it softly, warming it with his breath, biting so very gently, like he was avoiding his natural impulse. I remember tangling my fingers through his hair, something I had wanted to do for a while, and he moaned.

Sex was something I knew about scientifically. I knew the parts, how they functioned, the end result. I knew it clinically; the textbook definition, for that was all you could ever hope to learn about in such a reserved society. Even kissing was a rather novel concept to me, so I was rather surprised with myself when I turned and pulled Nikola by his lapel to me, kissing him hard on the lips. Where John and James had been a desire hampered by society, allowed by our impudenceto explore each other, Nikola and I were simply filled with raw, denied lust. And it came out quite sharply. I torn at his jacket and he struggled with the buttons on my dress; my hands pulled at his hair and kept his lips firmly against mine.

At some point, I could feel John behind me, his torso bare. He kissed the back of my neck and helped Nikola with my clothes by pulling each tie gently, care to keep it from knotting. James I could see out of the corner of my eye. He stood just in front of the sofa he and John had been in and was watching us. He was shirtless and barefoot and his trousers strained with his growing arousal. I'd never seen a man aroused before; that night I saw four.

Before long, I was stripped down nothing but my chemise and pantaloons- really just thin cotton caprice and a long tank-top of the same material. The room had a slight draft and the fire only served to keep it tepid. I should have felt cold and exposed, embarrassed to baring myself so boldly and so immorally to four men. I should have felt like a whore. Instead I felt alive. My body buzzed with excitement and pleasure. My boys made me feel comfortable, bathed in their affections.

John turned me to him gently. He cupped my cheek in his hand and kissed me softly. Behind us, I could hear James moving closer to us and Nigel removing his jacket and shoes. James stepped behind me, pressing his full length against me, holding my hips still, and he kissed neck, just below my ear. I could feel James' erection against the small of my back and John's against my belly.

James moaned into my ear as Nigel's invisible hands ran up his back and as he bit James on neck. I could feel Nigel reaching around James, pulling at the buttons on his trousers in hurry. I felt James shift as Nigel removed his trousers and pants and then he was bare against me.

Nikola took my hand, pulling my attention away from John's lips. He stood there naked, unashamed and confident, showing off the contours of his chest and abs and arms, his muscular legs and firm bottom, and mostly proudly, I'm sure, his rather large member.

In the brief period that I had been distracted, James and John became engaged in each other and I slipped from between the two of them to join Nikola again. He kissed me and pulled the clasp from my hair, letting my long blonde curls fall over my shoulders. He smiled as one hand played in them. I loved the way Nikola used to smile at me; it's how I knew he meant it when he said he loved me. Then he undressed me. His eyes fell to look at me. One hand stroked my breast and I sighed into his ear and closed my eyes and just felt. He kissed my neck and then lower to my clavicle, then he took my breast into his mouth and all I could do was moan.

I think the other boys noticed us about then. At some point John had been stripped and he and James now stood, flush against each other, James throbbing against John's thigh, and John against James' stomach, and Nigel stood naked and visible besides James. I played my fingers through Nikola's hair, trying to catch my breath as his tongue played with my nipple, and watched the three of them watching us. I wonder what they thought of it, of Nikola and I, of my naked body, of their own needs.

Then he touched me in the most intimate of ways, and I wasn't expecting it, not his fingers to gently stroke me before entering me. It hurt just slightly, but I had grown so wet from the entirety of it that I hardly noticed. Nikola, always so very aware of me, was gentle. He slid his finger in deeper, then out, then so much deeper. I took his face in my hands and kissed him. When he did it again, this time moving his finger against me, I clung to his shoulders, hoping his strength would support me.

Nigel was the one who pressed himself up against Nikola and kissed his shoulder. We all moved so in sync with each other that night that Nikola seemed to know what he wanted. He slid out from inside of me and stepped away. Nigel led us both over to the sofa, where there was room enough for Nikola to sit and pull me on top of him. Nigel sat next to us and, after a moment, John and James came over to join us.

I wasn't really watching them. Nikola had captured my lips again. He held my hips tightly and guided me over him. I bit his neck as he lowered me down, as he filled and stretched me. I didn't think I could feel any more aroused, feel any more need and want than I already did. I dug my nails into his back.

Nikola kept one hand on my hip, urging me to slowly lift up, and then back down onto him. A strangled moan escaped him the first time and he closed his eyes the second. Then he slid his other hand over the embroidered cushion and onto Nigel's leg. His wrapped his hand around Nigel, stroking him slowly and in time with my movements. I turned my head to see James leaning over Nigel, his hands gripping the back of the sofa. Nigel, for his part, had taken James into his mouth and James panted and sighed and gripped the sofa harder. Behind him, John thrust himself into James, the most unholy of acts we committed that night.

There was nothing but slow, perfectly in time movement, all of us staying in pace with each other. Strangled cries and moans and panting echoed through the room. The heat and the tension pooled inside of me, the need driving me faster and I sped up the entire exchange. Then it was like a domino effect:

Pleasure shattered inside of me, my whole body tensed in waves. I bore down on Nikola, digging my nails into his shoulders, crashing my lips onto his, spasming around his shaft inside of me. And then he climaxed with a prolonged moan. I felt the warmth of his seed inside of me. His eyes were squeezed shut and his hand worked more furiously against Nigel until, just moments later, Nigel sighed in release against James and spurted semen onto Nikola's hand. James wrenched one hand off the sofa and dug his nails into John's back. John was panting and pounding against James. Nigel swallowed unconditionally just as John's cry resounded off the walls.

We were quiet for a while. I had buried my face into Nikola's neck and rested my palm against his chest. He ran a hand absently over my back and his other hand laid on Nigel's thigh. James used the last of his strength to stay stretched out above Nigel and John had wrapped one arm around him, holding him close. His lips were near James' neck and he kissed it lazily a few times.

We thought that nothing could ruin us; the five of us were untouchable. We were above society, greater than it. We knew that we'd be great. We even imagined that they'd name cities after us and celebrate us and our advances, our discoveries, our greatness.

And we were right. No one could have ruined what we shared that night, what we shared many nights. God help whoever tried to say it was wrong, that we were wrong or disreputable, or immoral, because we weren't.

No, the truth is that we ruined ourselves. First with John, and then with anger and fear and doubt. It all marred the pure beauty of that night and we were never able to go back.


	2. And later say it's all our fault

/-/-

I wish that I could blame it all on John, on his murderous rampage. I wish that was all that destroyed us.

John ran, of course, and left a void between the four of us. We were angry, betrayed; we had that right. We had let him in, trusted him with our lives, our love, our bodies... everything. And he tore that trust to pieces.

Worst than that, he made us afraid of each other. Afraid of ourselves. If John, my gentle, loving John, could become a killer, if he could do those awful things, then what were the rest of us capable of? Would we eventually allow our disregard for society, for rules and law to overtake us? How far would we go?

The tension was worst between James and Nikola. Nikola, of course, was the natural killer, but strong enough to deny those impulses. But he was also the most driven among us, the most innovative and idealistic. If any of us were going to take over the world, and could, it was him. I didn't help any; I was so withdrawn, so angry with John, that he must have felt like he had lost me. He left for America again and didn't speak to any of us for almost a decade.

Once Nikola had left, I think Nigel felt displaced. He wasn't exactly attached to any one of us in particular, but rather the group as a whole. The more it dissolved, the less he felt like he belonged. He faded off into a life of crime; helped James and I here and there, but for the most part I didn't see him.

Then it was just James and I, working tirelessly towards no firmly realized goal. I'll admit, though, that it was, at times, difficult to work with him. I tried to remain distant, tried to move on past the relationship we once had and onto a new, more professional one. James, however, preferred the past.

I wish that were it. I wish I could say the Five dissolved simply because of time, changing interests, friends drifting apart. But that could never have been enough to destroy twelve years of such an intense friendship. What destroyed us was Adam.

Well not Adam, himself. Not his actions, nor his insanity, nor our summons to stop him. Once again, it was us, our arrogance.

We had an option- our work, or our friend. For Adam's life, Nigel's indiscretions would be overlooked, Nikola would be free to do any research he so desired, John would be granted amnesty, and James and I would have the money to fund our research. Our goals, our dreams, our greatness, all for the life of one man, one dangerous man. It seemed, at the time, reasonable. More than that, it seemed desirable. And that's what propelled us through London, through the empire and across Europe. It's what compelled my trigger finger, what ended it all. Adam's life, for our work, was worth it, we told ourselves over and over again.

That night, after I watched Adam fall to his death, we sat very much as we did in the spring of '87. It was 1901, however, and autumn, and we sat mostly quiet, drinking scotch and bourbon and wine but not in celebration. This time, I sat on the sofa with James and rested my head against his shoulder, kept my bare feet tucked under me. Nikola sat, perched on the arm, nursing the last of his second bottle of wine. I think he was hoping that if he drank enough fast enough, he might feel something. The way he kept unnaturally silent, I don't think that he ever did. Nigel couldn't keep still; he kept pacing by the fire and behind the sofa, making several trips to fill his glass. John, out of respect I suppose, remained standing in the far corner.

The first kiss was between James and me. I had been playing with his hair, as I used to do, while my cheek rested against his chest and I watched the fire. I hadn't spoken in a long time, despite the levity of the conversations. James, having noticed this, raised my chin, bringing my eyes level with his. I tried to smile at him, reassure him that someday I would be able to live with myself. He kissed me, gently, stroking my jaw. His fingers were splayed against my back. I gasped, very softly, not quite prepared for the action. We hadn't kissed in nearly a decade, not since shortly after John's departure.

The room went still. The fire cracked. The cushions shifted and wood creaked and material brushed against more material, and then Nikola was holding me from behind, his hands brushing my hair out of his way and his lips kissing my neck. Its familiarity was comforting and I relaxed into their touch, sighed as Nikola bit my neck and James kissed my cheek and smiled when Nikola's hand reached around me to take James'.

Vaguely, from where I remember John was standing, I heard Nigel say something along the lines of, "Looks like we're missin' out on all the fun, eh old boy?" I didn't look over to them, but I heard everything in John's sigh. He was watching with longing; there was a desire deep somewhere within him to erase all his mistakes. I like to imagine that he looked down into his scotch as he said, "I don't think I'm welcomed to join." James kissed my ear; Nikola reached around to start unbuttoning my blouse; from the corner, Nigel said, "You are tonight, mate," and then pulled John by the lapels down to kiss him.

By the time they joined us, Nikola had stripped away my jacket and blouse and over-corset, and my skirt as well. I had turned to kiss him; my hands were playing in his hair and James' hands were pulling away the remaining layers of undergarments to stroke my thighs. I heard John perch on the edge of the sofa and take James' face in his hands and kiss him. I felt one of his hands leave me, likely placed somewhere on John, holding him, touching him, trying to forget.

Nikola's hands replaced James'. He stroked the insides of my thighs through thin cotton as his tongue played against mine. Nigel pulled off his coat and cravat and boats and squeezed himself behind Nikola, holding him and kissing his neck and ear. It distracted Nikola- it always did. I watched with a soft smile as he titled his face away from mine, towards Nigel. His mouth had fallen open and his eyes closed and he breathed a sigh. I unbuttoned his shirt and vest and forced it all over his shoulders. From behind, Nigel's hands helped me remove it. I ran my nails down his chest and he moaned, so I did again. I pulled at the waistband of his trousers, but my hands were shaking by then. Nikola kept kissing me until I could hardly breathe and I couldn't focus on clothing any longer.

Then James had returned to undressing me. He pulled the last of the strings and urged my hands to raise as he pulled everything over my head, so I was left in nothing but pantaloons. Those I yanked off myself, annoyed with restrictions and feel of it. I turned to James as I threw the material off to the side; he was already mostly naked, save his pants. He sat with his back against the sofa and John was next to him, on his knees, facing the rest of us. John, too, was equally as undressed. I just looked at him for a few moments, suddenly unsure of what to do.

But then he smiled. Not the cruel, twisted smirk that I had come to associate with him, but one from his younger, gentler nature, the John I remembered. He leaned over James and captured my lips with him. I let him kiss me but didn't at first lean into the act. Forgive and forget, right? Acts like his could never be forgotten and, I had thought, that I could never forgive him. But that night, we were all killers. We were all above the law, above reproach, above morals and gods and humanity. That night, a small part of me forgave him and I kissed with all the passion and love and hate and grief I felt in that moment.

We rearranged shortly after that, so John had taken James' place and I sat, straddling his now bare legs. He was kissing me and stroking my arms and breasts, being gentle, like he always was with me. He guided me over him and I hissed in pleasure and pain. I was panting slightly against his neck, gripping his shoulders and trying to adjust to the feel of him, the pleasure of it, the intimacy, the feel of his skin against mine.

Even through that, I could hear the deep, resonating growl that could only belong to Nikola. In the corner of my sight, I could see him, lean body stretched out lazily next to John and me. James and Nigel had relieved him of his trousers and pants, leaving him naked and hard. He was looking John and I, clearly uncomfortable with the way we had paired off. I reached out to stroke his face; then I pulled him to me, kissing him as I rocked against John beneath me. The same hand trailed down his chest; I stroked him, slowly and lightly, keeping pace with my movements against John. I alternated between kissing Nikola and kissing John; both of my boys, when their lips were unoccupied, took to kissing my neck and breasts. Nikola, as he always liked to do, played with my hair as he kissed me.

Near us, I could hear James panting and Nigel sighing. I knew they were facing each other, James taking Nigel and Nigel biting his lip.

I gripped Nikola a little tighter and sped up my pace. Nikola groaned and rested his forehead against John's shoulder for a moment before he kissed again until I was breathless.

Nikola was first. I felt him tensing; he clung to my leg and the sofa and threw his head back, eyes shut tightly. He let out a breathless sigh as semen covered my hand.

John was next. He quickened quite suddenly after Nikola was finished. His movements became less refined and graceful as they dissolved into a desperate need for release.

I was last. John shuddered under me and kissed me hard and Nikola sucked my breast and stroked my neck. I dug my nails into John's and Nikola's shoulders and pulled my lips from John's as I tried to suck in air between tremors.

I slipped off John's lap and huddled in between the two men. My head laid against Nikola's shoulder, his hand rested on my thigh and I threaded our fingers together. John kissed my shoulder and cuddled closer to me, wrapping an arm around my waist and placed my hand over his. We sat together like that, catching our breaths and letting our hearts slow, as we listened to our friends until they too eventually succumbed.

We used to be foolish enough to think that we'd be honoured for our achievements; that we'd be praised and love for it all, no matter the means we took. Remember that city we were hoping for?

In the end, when the Five are all gone, and the Sanctuary system falls to dust, and there's nothing left to praise, they'll say it's all our fault. All of it. Adam and so much more. Our mistakes and failures and overwrought ambition will be all that's remembered.


End file.
